Multi-pole relay with interchangeable spring biased contact structure



June 8, 1965 J. SCHEIB, JR 3, MULTIPOLE RELAY WITH INTERCHANGEABLE SPRING V BIASED CONTACT STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 30, 1961 Sheets-Sheet 1 i .l. 75367. 57 a 1 (ah-E INVENTOR. 7 doH Y Sous/s, JE,

ATTOf YE) June 8, 1965 .1. SCHEIB, JR 3, MULTI-POLE RELAY WITH INTERCHANGEABLE SPRING BIASED CONTACT STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 30, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 "NEW WIN 58 p a 5'5 54 SI SLvz i; 53 43 f, 7

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' rrom/cy June 8, 1965 J. SCHEIB, JR

MULTI-POLE RELAY WITH INTERCHANGEABLE SPRING BIASED CONTACT STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 30, 1961 R9. y m W i m MM 6 a N United States Patent 3,188,405 MULTI-POLE RELAY WITH INTERCHANGEABLE SPRING BIASED CONTACT STRUCTURE John Scheib, J12, Elmsford, N.Y., assignor to Ward Leonard Electric Co., Mount Vernon, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 134,881 1 Claim. (Cl. 20016) This invention relates to multipole relays and particu larly to separately mounted contact members having at least two poles, each having a normally open or normally closed position.

In my co-pending application Serial Number 741,347 filed on June 11, 1958, now Patent No. 3,099,728 and en titled Electrical Multipole Control Relays, multipole relays are described in which individual contact members having single poles are separately mounted on a mounting plate and separately attached to the actuating armature of the electromagnet. This arrangement permits the number of pole pieces to be selected as desired or replaced with ease. This imparts a flexibility to the relays on original assembly or subsequently after installation. A shortcoming of the contact members described in my co-pending application is that each contact member has only a single pole. If two or more poles could be provided in each piece without increasing the size of the contact member, the circuit capacity of the relay could be correspondingly increased or, for the same number of poles, a relay with a smaller mounting plate could be used.

An object of this invention is to provide two poles in each contact member in relays having multiple contact members each separately attachable to a mounting plate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multipole contact member that is interchangeable with a single pole contact member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a multipole contact member which may have the moveable contacts either in the normally closed or normally open position without requiring change of the location of the fixed con-tacts on shift from one position to another.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the pole piece with the side cover removed illustrating .the contact bars in normally open position;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the pole piece taken along lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the contact carrier;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the contact block;

FIGURE 5 is a mounting or rear end view of the contact block;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the contact block taken along lines 66 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of the contact block taken along lines 77 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 8-8 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the upper fixed contact terminal member;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of the lower fixed con-tact terminal member;

FIGURE 1 1 is a perspective view of the upper center fixed contact terminal member;

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view of the lower center fixed contact terminal member;

FIGURE 16 is a perspective view of the moveable contact bar;

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of the spring supports;

FIGURE 15 is a side view of the side cover; and

FIGURE l6 illustrates the contact carrier with the contact bars in normally closed position.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, an assembled contact member 26; is illustrated, fastened to a mounting plate 2 1 of a relay. The contact member comprises a contact block 22 with fixed contact terminal members 23, 24, 25, 26 mounted therein and a plunger or contact carrier 27 reciprocally mounted in the block and held in place by a side cover 28.

The molded pole housing or contact block 22 is a single molded piece and has a chamber 29 for housing the fixed and moveable contacts. A side wall 3%) closes one side of the chamber and the side cover 28 closes the other side of the chamber.

The chamber is generally rectangular in shape. Intermediate partitions 43, 44 extend horizontally from the rear and front body portions 41, 42 to divide the chamber 29 into upper and lower portions.

As also illustrated in FIGURE 4, the contact members are narrow with the thickness of the body portions and the contact carrier being approximately the same. The top wall 45 of the contact block is solid and encloses the top of the chamber 29 and the bottom wall 46 has a rectangular shaped opening 47 for the plunger or contact carrier 27. In the front portion of the contact block are narrow slots 48, 49, 5t), 51 for snugly receiving and recessing the contact terminal members 23, 24, 25, 26 respectively.

The contact terminal members 2326 are illustrated in FIGURES 9, 10, 1'1 and 12. The top and bottom contact terminal members are identical except that the contact supporting portions 23a and 26a extend from opposite edges of the respective terminal members 23, 26. The upper and lower contact terminal members are illustrated in the relationship when mounted in the contact block 22. The members 23, 26 are mirror images of one another. The connecting strips 23b, 2612 are the same and are flat against the wall 3t). Each has a bowed portion fitting in recesses 53, 54 respectively to avoid the contact carrier 27. The contact supporting portions 23a, 26a extend from facing edges of the strips and the terminals 23d, 26d extend from opposite edges. The terminals 23d, 26d extend longitudinally to the respective connecting strips and at right angles or normal thereto to fit in the slots 48, 51 respectively which are at right angles to the side wall 30.

Slots 52, 55 in the rear portion are provided for the projections 23c, 260 respectively. The projections slide into the slots to hold the terminal members in position at the rear of the pole piece. Thus the top and bottom contact terminals are held by interfitting of the contact terminals with the contact block without the use of other fastening means.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, the terminals 23, 24, 25 and 26 are evenly spaced along the front of the contact member. The contact terminal is slightly bent so as to center the contacts in the upper and lower portions of the chamber 29. The contact terminal member 23 has contact buttons 23 and 23g and the contact terminal member 26 has contact buttons 26 and 26g. The contact supporting portion 23a of member 23 and the contact terminal member 24 are positioned on opposite sides of the upper portion of the inner chamber 29 and are each also spaced from the top wall 45'and the partitions 43 and 44 to generally center the buttons therebetween. Similarly, the contact terminal 26 has contact buttons 26 and 26g and terminal 25 has contact buttons 25) and 25g centered in the lower portion of the chamber 29 on opposite sides of the chamber and spaced from the partitions 43, 44 and lower wall 46.

At the front of the contact member, the sidewall 311a extends forwardly of the terminals 23d, 24d, 25d and 26d. The terminals are bent at an upward angle and are electrically isolated by partition-s 56, 57 and 53. The terminals thus face generally forwardly for the fastening of leads to the contact member by bolts 59. At the rear of the contact member, spaced projections 61) and 61 are provided in the plane of the contact member from the back thereof (FIGURES 1 and The projections are rectangular in cross section and have bevelled edges to fit into rectangular slots in the mounting plate 21 so that a movement normal to the mounting plate is required to mount or detach the contact member. A flange 62 with an open sided slot 63 extends vertically upward from the rear body portion 41 for receiving a bolt 64 having a retaining washer 65 which fits in a groove 66. The slot 63 is open on the cover side of the contact member and closed on the opposite side. The cover overlaps the groove no so that the washer 65 engages the cover to prevent the extraction of the bolt 64 through the slot 63. Thus, the bolt 64 is held captive in the contact member.

The cover, illustrated in FIGURE 15, is generally of the same configuration as the contact member and has three slots '71 71 and'72 with tongues 7%, 71a and 72a projecting into the slots. The contact member, as illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 8, has projections 73, 7 and 75 with slots 73a, 74a and 75a into which the tongues 70a, 71a and 72a fit to fasten the cover on the side of the contact member. The slots 73a, 74a and 75a are formed by passages 73b, 74b and 75b extending through the contact member. The slots 73a, 74a and 75a face mounting plate 21 so that the cover is moved rearward for removal and forward for fastening in place. The cover cannot be removed when the contact member is mounted on the relay.

The contact bar 87 and 88 in FIGURES 1, 2 and 16 is illustrated in FIGURE 13. The bar is of a generally rectangular flat shape with contacting portions 110 and 111 at opposite ends for engaging the fixed contacts. The surfaces on both sides of the contact bar are finished for engaging the contacts on either side. In the center of the bar, a loop 112 provides means for fastening the springs 89 and 96} to the respective contact bar. Projections 113 extend from the side edges for centering the bar on the contact carrier and engage the outer side surfaces 114 of the rectangular portion 81 The plunger or contact carrier 27 is of a rectangular shape and has a thickness corresponding to the depth of the chamber 29 so that the plunger is guided by the side wall 30 and cover 28. The plunger extends through the opening 47 in the bottom wall 46 and has a lateral flange 81 and a laterally extending member 82 connected to the flange and forming a slot 83. The armature frame of the relay fits into the slot 83 to connect the plunger to the electromagnet.

The rectangular portion 80 of the carrier is guided by the wall 311 and cover 28 between the fixed contacts and the partitions 43 and 44. A projection 78 fits in a slot 79 to retain the carrier in the contact member if only the upper pole is used in the normally closed position.

Slots 34 and 85 and an open ended slot 86 are provided for carrying the bridging bar or moveable contacts 87 and 88. The bars extend through the slots to contact the fixed contacts in the upper or lower portions of the chamber 29.

Considering the contact member with the bridging bars in normally open position, as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, the contact bar 88 is positioned in the slot 84 with a helical spring 89 located in the slot 84 forcing the contact bar against the upper surfaces of the slot 85. On the upward actuated movement of the plunger, the contact bar 88 engages the contact buttons 25g and d 26g to depress the spring 8'9. In the normally open position, the contact bar 87 is mounted in the slot 85 and is pressed against the upper wall of the slot by spring 91) located in the slot. The slots 84-, 85 and 86 of the contact carrier are laterally biased to provide a sideways shift of the contact bars 87 and 88 just prior to and While they are in engagement with the contacts. This wiping. action provides a cleaning of the contact surfaces to insure continued operation and good contact between the contact bars and the respective contacts. The walls of the slot 84 have sloped portions 100a and 19012 at the upper end of the slot. The edges 101a, 1011) of the contact bar engage the side walls and the sloped walls 1011a, 1011b to shift the contact bar sideways. The slot'85 correspondingly at its upper and lower ends has sloped walls 162a, 1112b and 103a, 1113b. The portion of the side wall 1115a, 1105b between the two sloped portions is parallel to the movement of the contact carrier 27. The upper slot 86 has sloped walls 106a, 1061) in the lower portion to provide the lateral shift to the contact bar. An insulating spring support 91 rests on the bottom wall of the slot and has a cylindrical recess @2 for seating the spring 90. The spring support electrically isolates the spring 90 from the contact terminals 25 and 26 when in the de-energized position. The spring support 91 has flanges 93 and 94 extending lateral to the contact carrier for purposes later described herein. The contact bar 87 on the upward movement of the carrier 27 engages the contact buttons 23g and 24g to complete the electrical circuit therebetween.

The partition 7 separating the walls 95 and has .a cylindrical opening 9'7 formed in the molding of the contact carrier to permit the formation of a smaller hole %a in the partition 93 for receiving the projection 99 from the bottom of the spring support 91. In addition to the hole 97a, grooves 8 3a and 86b are formed in the side walls of the upper slot and grooves 85a and 36a are'formed in the slide walls of the intermediate slot.

The contact member is set for normally closed position, as illustrated in FIGURE 16, by positioning the contact bar 855 in the slot 85 with the spring d9 pressing the contact bar 88 against the lower wall of the slot $5. The spring 39 seats in the recess in the spring support 91. In the unactuated position of the carrier 27, the contact bar 83 engages the contact buttons 25f and Zdf to normally bridge these contact buttons. On actuation the carrier moves up against the contact bar 25% and presses the flanges 93 and 94 of the spring support 91 against the partitions 43 and 44. This applies a spring pressure against the carrier to produce a return force on de-energization of the electromagnet and eliminates the need of a spring return. Thus, the spring 89 acts also as a return spring. The spring support 91 has curved surfaces 115, 116 which fit in the grooves 85a, 35b. The spring support 91 is also necessary for the normally'closed position of the contact bar 88 by providing a seating recess 92 for the spring 89.

The bridging bar 37 is positioned in the open ended slot 86 and is pressed against the lower wall by the spring 91 hearing against the top wall 45 and seating in a notch 95 therein. The bridging bar 87 normally engages the contact buttons 23 and 24 in the tile-energized position and on energization is raised by the partition 97 to open the circuit. The top wall 45 is provided with a recess 96 for receiving the upper end of the rectangular portion 311 of the contact carrier.

The contact carrier is readily removed from the contact member by removing the cover and sliding the contact carrier sideways out of the chamber 29. The con tact bars d? and 88 may be shifted from the normally open to the normally closed position or vice versa without the need of any tools or additional parts. The fixed contacts remain in position and do not require rearrangement.

sass r The contact block may be made of phenolic plastic type material or of a vinyl plastic type material. The contact carrier or plunger is preferably made of nylon. The contact block is formed by a single molding operation in a single mold. The surfaces are related to permit a single molding operation to be performed. For example, the passages 73b, 74b, '75:) have their walls parallel to the walls of the slots 48, 49, 50, 51 as are the walls of the contact block forming chamber 29. Also, the walls of the recess 5 and 55 are formed by passages extending through the side cover 30. The side walls 30 and 30a cover or protect the electrical elements on one side. The cover plate 28 covers the other side of the contact block fitting over the projections 73, 74, 75.

Also, the plunger or contact carrier 27 is formed in a single molding operation. The walls forming the slots 84, 85, 86 are in the same direction as the outer walls of the rectangular portion 80. The flanges 81 and extension 82 also are normal to the rectangular portion 80 and have surfaces which provide for an easy molding of the carrier. As previously described, an axial passage is formed in the rectangular member 80 by a projection of the mold.

It is thus seen, from the foregoing description, that a two pole contact member is provided, which is of substantially the same size as the single pole contact member and is interchangeable therewith on a relay. Thus, without any substantial change in the over-all outer dimensions, a contact member is provided which may have two normally open positions, two normally closed positions or a normally open and a normally closed position. Thus, the member is more versatile to meet the requirements of the customer using the relay.

The invention is set forth in the following claim.

I claim:

A contact member comprising a molded insulating piece having a chamber closed on one side and open on the other side and having a top wall, a bottom wall and two end walls, oppositely positioned members intermediate said top and bottom walls to define said chamber into upper and lower portions and spaced to receive a movable contact carrier, a pair of fixed contacts mounted in said insulating piece and laterally spaced on opposite sides of the upper portion of said chamber and being intermediately positioned between said top wall and said oppositely positioned members, a second pair of fixed contacts mounted in said insulating piece and laterally spaced on opposite sides of the lower portion of said chamber and being intermediately positioned between said bottom wall and said oppositely positioned members, a contact carrier mounted in said insulating piece between the first pair of contacts and between the second pair of contacts, means on the open side for holding said carrier in the chamber, said contact carrier having three slots aligned in the direction of movement of said carrier forming upper and lower slots and an intermediate slot and having two upper and lower movable contacts in said slots to engage said pairs of fixed contacts in various relationships, said carrier having in said intermediate slot a spring with one of said movable contacts mounted at one end and a spring support with a socket for receiving the other end of said spring, said carrier having a partition with a recess forming a bottom to said intermediate slot, said spring support having in one position a projection fitting in said recess to hold said spring with said contact in an upper normally open position for engaging said first pair of fixed contacts and in the reverse position holding said spring with said contact as a lower contact in a normally closed relationship with said second pair of fixed contacts and having flanges for engaging said oppositely positioned members to provide on said normally closed lower contact in said intermediate slot a contact spring pressure independent of said carrier.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,106,581 1/38 Unwin 200-166 X 2,758,169 8/56 Weide 200-16 2,874,245 2/59 Moyer 200-404 2,879,359 3/59 Pearson 200164 2,885,516 5/59 Goudy et al 200104 X 2,919,327 12/59 Kuhn et al. 200-166 3,045,092 7/62 Bundy 20016 X FOREIGN PATENTS 836,571 6/60 Great Britain.

BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner, 

